A Little Lie Leads A New Life
by sshookie
Summary: A story from Simon's POV. Simon holds the truth that he's not allowed to tell until given permission from Jace. Clary, Isabelle, and Alec are in danger of the news. Simon isn't sure he's ready to take on the new job but continues to hold his promise with Jace. His home life hasn't been the same since Racheal came home. Jace watches Simon from afar and they meet secretly to talk.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1.**

They were walking down the street, he never thought to look at the road sign before crossing the street but he was pretty sure it sounded something like Strawberry or something like that. Usually it never really mattered, they had been coming to the same coffee shop for two years now. I was trying to start a conversation with her but she was zoned out in her own thoughts and imagination.

"Hey Clary," he asked.

"Hhmm?"

"Whatcha thinking about in that head of yours?" that snapped her out of her reverie.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, what did you say?"

I repeated the question and she looked at me debatably, like she couldn't figure out whether she could tell me or not. So I spoke again. This time I tried the gentle boyfriend voice; not that I was her boyfriend. I had been trying to keep it together when other guys flirted with her or tried to hook up with her, but even when I didn't hold it together she just figured that it was because I'm her best friend and ' that's just what best friends do '. I was friend-zoned.

"You can tell me Clary, you know I'd support you on anything right?"

"Yes, but Simon this isn't the type of thing that you can support or fix for me to make it all better," she said with a bit of irritation. Simon took that as a cue to find a new subject, but he wasn't quite ready to drop the topic. He wanted to at least know.

"Clary I can at least try. I want to make you happy and if that thought bubble of yours is going to put you down then we need to find a solution the problem. Please let me help, I wanna see you smile again."

Simon knew he was crossing that uncomfortable boundary she liked to put up around sensitive subjects.

"Alright, fine, take a shot," she said with a tight, quivering voice, "My mom is having financial issues and my stepdad, Luke , is thinking about leaving her and filing a divorce but the problem is that if he does leave us then we can't hold up the money. Once the divorce is filed my mom loses almost all of the money, we won't be able to support ourselves, Simon, do you see the issue now!" she screamed the last line at me with teary up eyes. I felt horrible asking but I needed to know. Finally the tears came. We were standing in the middle of the sidewalk creating a traffic issue, but I didn't care. All I could think about was how hurt she was.

Before I know it, I turned her to face me and hugged her fiercely not letting her go. She gasped in surprise but was still crying with swollen puffy eyes. I held her again and this time she just cried into my gray t-shirt. After about twenty minutes of us standing like that we started to walk again. She used my jacket to wipe the salty tears off her cheeks.

Before I knew it we had made it to the coffee shop. I wasn't ready to go in but by the expression on her face neither was she. Her face showed pure fear and she hesitated before pointing back behind me towards the door.

I turned not seeing what it was she saw but I couldn't deny that it was something bad. Really, really, bad.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2.**

Disclaimer: I do not own the mortal instrument characters.

"What? What did you see Clary?" she obviously didn't hear me because she was still staring but the look of fear and panic was gone. Now she just looked like she was trying to figure out what she saw. I snapped my fingers in her face trying to catch her attention. She looked over at me.

"Did you see that? Tell me you did see that?" it was my turn to look puzzled.

"See what?" she pushed past me into the coffee shop and ordered her coffee then picked out a booth in the corner. I followed her lead and ordered my favorite pumpkin mix coffee with extra sugar and cream, then sat in the booth opposite side of her. The booth was clearly meant for only two people telling by the size but between Clary and him they could have easily fitted someone else in the booth on both sides. She set down her coffee cup and faced me. The look she gave immediately told me she was about to explain something I should have already known. Man I hate that look, it made me feel like a stupid kid being scolded and trust me I am not a kid.

"Stop playing games with me. I know what I saw and you should have seen it too. Look over there," she said pointing to the opposite side of the shop. From where we were sitting you could see him perfectly, that probably means she picked this seat for that exact reason.

"See him?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"He was the one that Alec and Isabelle saw at the county fair. Remember? Alec showed us the video he took of that guy who had the bronze sword and was attacking the teenager with the hot electric blue hair." I remembered now.

"Oh yeah, I felt real bad for that kid. But what I didn't understand was 1. No one else seemed to care or didn't see and 2. The way he disintegrated afterwards instead of dying of blood loss. Speaking of which, he didn't even bleed blood it was like black ink or goo or something!"

Now that I think about it he didn't even seem human. No human would disintegrate like that. Like they were sucked up by the earth and sent down into the deepest holes of Hell. It just wasn't natural, but nothing these days had seemed right. Even their friends Alec and Izzy said that they had been getting strange dreams lately. Clary said last week that there were mermaids in the water or something like that. Maybe she said water faeries? I'm not really sure. We were so deep in thought that neither of us saw the boy make his way over to us until he sat down in the chair at the next table and begin to speak did we snap out of the reverie. He looked at us then laughed. I didn't understand.

"Sorry, what did you say? I didn't hear you," I said at the same time that Clary said, "Huh?"

He laughed again. "Hey, my name's Jace Wayland. Nice to meet you." He held out a hand for either of us to shake but me and Clary didn't even move. I was busy trying to figure out why he came over here. Apparently he got the message that neither of us planned on shaking his hand so he put it down.

"Sorry to interrupt your date, but I saw both of you staring at me and found it a little strange so I came over to introduce myself," he said flashing Clary a smile. I snickered knowing Clary never cared about looks usually and definitely wouldn't return the smile because of the video our friends showed us. She absolutely feared him, I remember from the look she gave me before we walked in and the way she talked about the scene earlier. Surprisingly she spoke first, swallowing some more coffee before she did.

"What do you want with us, _murderer_?" Her voice was full of pure hatred as she spoke that last line.

"Calm down Clary," I said with some tension.

"What!"

"I said calm down. You can't go around and just place nametags with murderer on people."

She looked at me with sad eyes and a surprised face. It hurt to look at her so I looked at the wall behind her.

"We should give him a chance to explain Clary. I don't think he knows what we're talking about," I said with finality. She tensed because the boy decided to sit in the booth with us. He moved and sat next to me. Which meant I was squished up against the window and it wasn't very comfortable. She still had sad eyes and only looked right at me. The boy looked between us with a puzzled look on his face. I was getting angry he shouldn't have sat here not only did he make me uncomfortable but Clary feared him ever since she saw the video. I spoke up with a tight, frustrated voice.

"Go back over there. You're too close and neither of us like you too well."

You could tell I had surprised him since I was the one to mention him staying and hearing the story. I knew that if he stayed over here long enough Clary wouldn't be able to keep her barrier up. As hard as it is to bring it down I knew it wasn't what I wanted: to see her up set and distraught was not on my wish list. So I repeated it a little more meanly.

"I said to leave man, we don't want you here."

"I'm sorry I just thought you wanted to hear my explanation over something I did?"

"We do want an explanation, just not from you. So leave."

He looked frustrated and kept staring at Clary. I was about to punch him but I saw Clary's pleading look and I knew what she wanted.

"Come on Clary, we're leaving."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3.**

We walked in silence for a while. When we were only a block from her house, I stopped and looked down at her. You could tell she had silently been crying.

"Clary…"

"No, I know I was a wimp back there. I'm sorry Simon I should have stayed to hear the side of the story and to get an explanation. We had so many questions that he could have probably answered but instead like a wimp I stayed silent and tried to keep in my tears. You know how much I hate crying in public or really anywhere around people. I'm just really sorry—," she had stopped abruptly because I had taken her face in my hands and gently wiped the salty tears off her face. "Simon?" she looked so surprised and I remembered how we had been best friends forever and we knew each other front and back yet I could still surprise her.

"I guess I still have a few surprises up my sleeve," I said with a small laugh. We were so close, I could smell the sweet strawberry chapstick she had on. We both leaned in but before anything happened her phone rang. We sprang apart so fast I didn't think it was possible.

"Sorry I gotta take this," she said opening her phone.

"Hello? Hey, mom," she said like she was aggravated. "Nothing just walking home with Simon. No, why? Okay, okay fine. Sure." And with that she handed the phone to me. With an annoyed look on her face. I answered the phone with a warm greeting.

"Hey, Mrs. Garroway, what's going on?"

"Hello Simon, I'm just running some things by you since Clary won't seem to tell you."

"Okay? I'm listening," I said shifting from foot to foot obviously uncomfortable with the conversation.

"Clary is to be home at the time I tell her to be and no later or she won't be able to hang out with you for days at a time. I don't want her running all over Brooklyn, I need to know where she is going in case I need to see her or we have last minute plans. And if she is disrespectful to me or Luke she won't be going, doing or talking to anyone for weeks at a time. Is that clear. I'm telling you these things because she listens to you more than she listens to me or Luke."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll talk to her for you but there is no promising she'll listen. She's a rule breaker not a rule maker."

"I'm very aware of that Simon. She gets that from her father."

"Sorry Mrs. Garroway, I know you don't like to talk about him."

"It's okay Simon, please hand the phone back to Clary," as Clary held out her hand on cue.

"Okay bye."

"Bye, Simon."

I handed the phone back to Clary and she and her mother started to speak again. "Yes mom I got it. No I'm fine. I don't know, close. Five, ten minutes maybe. Okay okay. Whatever. Alright bye." And with that she hung up and gave me an annoyed looked.

"What?" I said.

"Oh nothing, I don't see why you go out of your way to make her happy. Never mind. Look, I'm sorry about that she didn't have to tell you all of that. She's been really hard on me lately. I can't figure out why at first she wanted me home every night at 8:00 but since I told her I wouldn't listen she made it 9:00, then she had the idea to move to the farmhouse and homeschool me, but I told her I'd just stay at your house if that's what had to happen."

God, I would love that idea.

We walked the rest of the way to her house in silence. When we got to the door step she stopped and stared up at the doorway. Her mom was standing right up there waiting for us. I bent down and whispered in Clary's ear.

"What time did you tell her you'd be home?"

"I don't really remember, somewhere around sunset," she shrugged.

"What! Clary that was three hours ago. Why didn't you say something to me?"

Behind us her mom cleared her throat and we both turned our attention up to her in the doorway. I tried to play it off as if I didn't notice her.

Oh! Hey . How are you doing?"

Apparently it wasn't very good because both Clary and her mom looked at me like I fooling no one. Man, I felt real stupid. You know, I'm starting to get used to it. That's not a good thing, I hate feeling stupid. So I started again and tried a different approach.

"Sorry, Jocelyn, I didn't know Clary was supposed to be home three hours ago. I promise it won't happen again," I said with a guilty tone of voice. It must have worked because she looked at me apologetically.

"It's okay Simon, I guessed she didn't tell you by the way you sounded so calm on the phone and how she wasn't home already like I asked. It wasn't your fault but thank you for looking after her anyway."

"No problem, that's what best friends are fore, right?" I said as I bumped her shoulder with mine and smiled down at her. She gave me a pleading look that probably meant stop being a kiss up and this conversation is about to turn ugly. So I spoke again.

"Anyway," I said turning back to Jocelyn from Clary, "I have to get home, my mom is probably worrying about me. Bye," I said looking at Clary.

"See you tomorrow right?" she said.

"Yeah sure but remember I have band practice and then Eric's poetry at the Cafe' downtown. You're welcome to come to both, of course, you already know that."

"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow."

I smiled at her and whispered good luck in her ear. I heard her cursing under her breath so only I could hear. She smiled back up at me with a grateful smile. Her mom cleared her throat again.

"Oh, right, bye ."

"Bye, Simon."

I started walking back down the street and heard Jocelyn scolding Clary as she walked inside and kicked the door shut behind her. Then the yelling started.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4.**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instrument characters. I would love some ideas and new characters/ relations. Please comment some.

I was in deep thought about what happened today, the coffee incident and meeting Jace, Jocelyn's new rules, Clary crying in the street before we got to the Café about how she said her parents were fighting and she thought they were going to split up but didn't know for sure, and about how she might be moving away for a while. I didn't even see the stop sign I ran into until I realized what happened. Then I stopped and looked around me. I must've been walking towards the coffee shop because I was already halfway there. I didn't even remember walking to the shop. But I walked the rest of the way and went inside.

It was nice and warm in here compared to the cold, dark street. And it smelled like coffee beans which is weird because most of the coffee here is electronically made. I walked up to the barista and asked him if he's seen a curly, blond-haired boy around 17-18 years old. Wearing a dark blue t-shirt and jeans. He didn't answer just pointed to the double seat in the back of the shop. The same seat Clary and I were sitting in earlier.

I walked over to him and sat in the opposite seat. He gave me a sad, tired look that says a lot. Like he wasn't here waiting for us to come back, he just didn't want to go home. I could tell already that there was a lot going on I this guy's life he just probably didn't want to talk about it. He also looked really lonely.

"Hey, man, are you alright?" I said.

"Yeah, look, I'm really sorry about earlier today. I didn't mean to scare her or be rude. I knew you were talking about me, but I wasn't sure if I should come over and introduce myself. But when I saw the look on her face when I walked over I knew I had done something wrong. I didn't know what I did but I wanted to apologize for it."

"How long have you been sitting here?"

"Since you guys left. I didn't know if you'd come back or not but I had nothing else to do so I just stayed here and drank a lot of coffee."

"Well I came back but I came to talk about the thing she was freaked out about."

"Okay, I'm listening. I really want to make it up to her."

He must really care about her. Not many boys really notice what's great about her because they go by looks and boob size. But none of that really mattered with Clary. I liked her for her. And by the looks of it so did he. But she was terrified of him yet she stayed headstrong when he came over. I was proud of her then, showing no weakness or cracks just pure heart and dedication.

'I do too," I said. I shifted my conversation and started explaining what was going on. "Basically this is how it went down. So friends of ours were at a county fair on Saturday. They were taking a picture of a teenager with electric blue hair and were going to send it to Clary. Instead of taking a picture they took a recording and didn't know it until they played it back what was on the recording. It was you on the video with a bronze sword with an inscription written on the blade. You raised the sword and brought it down right on the chest of the boy. But instead of bleeding blood it was more of an oil black color and it oozed out of him. And he didn't lie there like a human he disintegrated leaving behind no mess at all. It wasn't even human as far as I'm concerned."

He looked at me like I was a freaking genius. But I wasn't the brain here, I needed answers. I knew Clary wouldn't like me near much less talking about him without her here. But she was at home keeping her emotions at bay while I sifted this problem out of the stack she has.

"You aren't supposed to be able to see that. That was an extremely powerful glamour. How did you see through it? You can't be one of us. There's no way you're one of us…"

He kept ranting on and on but I had stopped listening when he said 'one of us'. What did he mean?

"Wait. Wait. Wait. What do you mean 'one of us '? What are you talking about?"

"Huh? Oh right, that. Well see there's a world beneath yours that only certain people can see and understand. We're called shadowhunters. We eliminate demons and keep the people in the world safe and alive. If we weren't here the streets would run with flowing blood and unthinkable monsters roaming around,' the image that came to mind was not as much as a pleasant one. A dark city a black, obsidian, castle. Dark red streams ran around and throughout the castle like a moat. The sky was a dusky, dark orange and red ran across the sky, setting a strange tint on everything. Like wearing orange tinted sunglasses. But the image was blurry, like there was something missing. Not to mention all of the ash flying around and the smoky clouds. I scared me to think that's what the world could end up as that.

"Yeah it sounds scary, doesn't it?"

"How did you know I was thinking about it?"

"The terrified expression on your face when tried to picture it."

"Oh, sorry. So the guy, you know, the one with the blue hair. He was a demon?"

"Yes, he was a demon. Demons that are really powerful and take the form of any life. Anybody around you could be a demon."

"Then how am I supposed to trust you," I asked skeptically.

"You came to me first. You already trust me. You're just not sure if it's right to trust me."

He's probably right. I give out trust like it's a penny I found on a street. They just keep coming. Maybe that's something I should work on, you know, sorting out my trust.

"True. So you're not a demon right?"

"Right. But you shouldn't have seen the demon in the first place unless you have shadowhunter in your family. Which in, that case, I probably need to turn you in. how many of you could see the boy disintegrate?"

"Um, only four of us as far as I know."

"Can I see the video? You do have it right?"

"No, see I wasn't the one at the fair. I had a concert in a downtown coffee shop but my friends were."

"What friends?"

"Isabelle and Alec Lightwood. They're brother and sister but get along great. Clary and I wonder how, sometimes, they do it."

"Okay so it's just you, Clary, Isabelle, and Alec. That's all who saw the video?"

"Yeah, I think. Isabelle might have shown some people, but if so she hasn't told us."

"It won't matter."

"What do you mean 'it won't matter'?"

"Only shadowhunters can see it. And the population is decreasing every day, I don't know why you weren't brought up as a shadowhunter but I need to figure it out."

"You mean I'm a shadowhunter," I asked. I didn't really want to know. If my mom never told me then I didn't see how someone else could.

"Yeah, maybe. I need to do some research first so don't stray far from Brooklyn."

"Don't worry I didn't plan to."

It was true of course. I was planning on leaving Brooklyn. I had my band, school, family, everything was I Brooklyn.

"Okay good. Also I wouldn't mention this to your friends yet. They might not take it well. Just keep it to yourself for a while. I let you know when you can tell them. I want to be there to explain myself to your friends but for now I'll lay low. We don't need another run in like I did with you guys today. She might mention me but you can only speak of the first time we met, not now."

"Okay, sounds like a plan."

"I need to get going. I missed a lot of assignments today waiting for you or her to come back."

I checked my phone. I had five miss calls from my mom and around ten text messages from Clary. It was 12:56, no wonder they were trying to find me I guess.

"Oh my god, you're right I gotta go. Sorry but it's 1:00 in the morning and both Clary and my mom seem to be freaking out."

"Don't worry, we will meet again but for now keep quiet.'

"Thank you, for everything, I have to go. Bye," and with that I walked out of the coffee shop and back onto the cold dark street.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 .**

Disclaimer: I do not own the mortal instruments characters.

I need some characters and I think I should pick 10 from the comments. So that mean I want you guys to comment a character name, the relation they h

On the way home he thought again of everything that had happened today. Not thinking anything could get any weirder. Not only did things get weirder he had an unexpected surprise on the way.

As he walked down the street he heard a couple sirens down the street. It wasn't much as a surprise to him; sirens were a constant thing for him. He didn't pay attention to them until they pulled up beside him on the street. The officer got out of the car and approached him. He was scared. He had never been stopped by a cop before. The officer started talking.

"Are you Simon Lewis," the officer asked.

He stammered on his words, "Yes, um, am I in trouble?"

"No, but a missing person's report came in with your face and name. Young man, where are you heading?"

"Home."

"Well your mother is very worried about you."

"Shocker," he replied, full of sarcasm.

"No need to get smart, we were only doing our job. We're ordered to give you a police escort home. Hop in."

"Oh, no thank you. I rather walk, I get to work these leg muscles." He didn't even have any. The officer mush have noticed that.

"Nonsense. It's no skin off my back. Now, get in," he said that last line with force. It was enough to scare Simon into getting in the car.

ave to one of my characters, and a background or hobby. Thank you, enjoy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 .**

Disclaimer: I do not own the mortal instruments characters.

If you commented a character than I will give the results within the next couple chapters. Comment. Like. Follow. Enjoy.

As the officer pulled up to Simon's house he saw his mom on the phone talking frantically to someone and Racheal on the porch with her head in her hands. She looked really tired, which is probably true. Jocelyn had called the house like she said she would, at 10:00, he guessed and told her I was on the way home. He didn't think he would go back to the coffee shop after that, but he did. Racheal noticed me first, standing on the sidewalk looking like an oaf probably. She jumped up and ran me over, tackling me to the ground in a hug. Clary was running up the street and yelled my name, joining us in the hug on the ground. We got up and got ourselves together. Then I looked at mom. She still hadn't noticed me still talking into the phone in a worried way. I put a finger on my lips and showed Racheal and Clary. The seemed to understand because they both smiled.

I sprinted towards my mom at top speed and wrapped my arms around her. She was scared and surprised at the same time and drop her phone on the dirt. I yelled Mom in a celebrating way and she started laughing but grew serious real quick.

"Where have you been? I filed a report 3 hours ago and I just got a response from the police that they were going to bring you home."

"Yeah, mom, they did bring me home upon force. I preferred walking, but they said that would have been against orders and they're not allowed to do that," he mimicked in a rough, deep voice.

"How long have you been home?"

"Five minutes mom, seriously how did you not notice the squad car pull up?"

"Sorry I was on the phone with Jocelyn. She said Clary ran off as soon as she heard you were missing, and if she came here let her know."

Behind me Clary spoke up.

"Let her know."

"Alright, will do," my mom replied. "Simon where have you been," she repeated. While she texted Clary's mom, but still enough force to sound like a mother and not distracted at all.

"At the coffee shop. I was talking to-"I cut myself off not wanting to reveal Jace's name.

"Talking to who?"

"Um, the barista."

"The bar- what?"

"Barista, you know, the guy who makes the special drinks at coffee shops or bars."

"Okay,' my mom said with a questioning look.

"Should I take Clary home?"

"Absolutely not! The last time you waked her home you went missing for four hours."

"Okay, look, I'm sorry about that I just got caught up in a conversation. That's all."

"Sure. Well her mom is coming to pick her up."

After that I walked over to Clary and playfully put an arm over her shoulders.

"You were worried," I asked with a smile.

"What the hell Simon. You said you were going home, next thing I know my mom is asking me where you were and that you were missing!" she said with all seriousness. Racheal must have taken this as a cue and left to go inside the house with mom. I took my arm off her shoulder and turned her to face me.

"Understand me Clary, this wasn't supposed to happen. It was a harmless cup of coffee. And look I'm still in tack, I haven't fallen apart or been kidnapped."

She looked at me surprised as if figuring out the whole thing. "You went back to the same coffee shop didn't you?" she said it fiercely.

"Yes I did. Why does it matter?"

"You lied to me," she said it more disappointed than angry. "You lied to us all really."

"What are you talking about," getting nervous. Clary was no idiot. She would have figured it out sooner than later but unfortunately it was sooner.

"You talked to that guy Jace, didn't you?"

"Yes, but Clary I needed answers. I wanted to know."

"So did I but I thought we could ask him together. I never thought about you going behind my back to ask him. It just doesn't seem like you."

"Stop, you're making me feel guilty Clary. I just wanted to know what happened and how."

"Well at least tell me. I have a right to know since it happened behind my back. And so do Alec and Izzy since they shot the video."

"I can't Clary, I'm sorry. I promised him I would wait till he said I could."

"This is pathetic Simon. How could you do this to me and not tell me," she screamed in my face.

"I'm sorry," I whispered back.

Her mom rolled up next to us on the street. She seemed relieved to see me but when she looked at Clary it clearly meant this is going to be an open discussion at home. I quickly apologized to Jocelyn and turned back to Clary.

"Are we still hanging out tomorrow?"

"We'll see how things work out tomorrow. Until then, no, I won't be coming."

"I get it. Again I'm sorry, whether you believe me or not."

"I believe you're sorry Simon. I just don't know if I'll ever forgive you for it. You did a lot by going out there and getting answer but refusing to tell your friends. It seems unforgivable to me but I care about you so much. What would have happened if he did something to you and I wasn't there to help?"

"Clary you were terrified of him there is no way you would have jumped in there to fight him."

"Yeah, but I could have at least called for help."

"Maybe not."

"What are you talking about 'maybe not'," she said getting irritated.

"I mean maybe you couldn't have called for help. They wouldn't have seen us."

"Huh?"

"Nothing," I said quickly knowing I was crossing the promise to Jace.

"No, tell-"she got cut off by her mom yelling at her to get in the car.

"This is not over," she said pointing an angry finger at my face. Getting at the car she and her mom started arguing already so I bid my goodbyes and went inside the house.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7.**

Disclaimer: I do not own the mortal instruments characters.

I listed the chosen characters in the comments section.

I stood in the foyer and listened for voices. They seemed to be coming from the kitchen so I walked towards the kitchen slowly and quietly as possible. It wasn't all that hard, I knew every creak in the floorboards making it to the door as silent as a mouse. Cautiously, I opened expecting to be hit with a whirlwind of questions. Instead the room was filled with an awkward silence. Both of them abruptly stopped the conversation and turned to face me. We stared at each other from across the room creating an awkward silence. I started to get angry. I looked at Racheal wondering what had happened. Usually Racheal never kept something from me. But she was now. She wasn't always like this you know. Back before she went to college we were inseparable. I love my sister, the old sister, the one who never turned her back on me and invited me into every conversation. All of a sudden memories started flooding back to me.

 _I wasn't any older than eight. My sister was looking for someone. We were at a party, it was cold and damp. The smell of mold filled my nose along with smoke, alcohol, and sweet spices. Drugs. I knew the smell instantly, I may be an eight year old, but I was not stupid. I was supposed to be home, in bed, safe and sound, but instead I was in one of her friend's basement. I wondered Racheal would want to be in such a horrible place, she never partied or went anywhere, really, when she was supposed to babysit me. Someone familiar slipped her hand into my tiny hand and I wrapped my stubby fingers around hers. I looked up at my sister, Racheal._

 _"_ _Racheal," I said. "Why are we here?"_

 _"_ _I'm just dropping something of buddy. I'm sorry I brought you here I know you don't like it. I'll be quick," she promised._

 _I coughed. The smoke from all the cigarettes and tubes started to get into my lungs. Racheal looked down at me and gave a look full of pity._

 _"_ _Okay. But can we hurry, I'm not feeling good."_

 _"_ _I'm sorry Simon. I'm going as fast as I can. I just don't see him, but he should be here. He's always here."_

 _Him. It could only be her boyfriend. The one person who could ruin your life with a snap of his fingers. Jacob Taylor. Racheal shouted something at me that I didn't catch due to all the loud music and noise. She took off at a faster pace than before and I had to jog to keep up. Suddenly a doorframe loomed up in front of us. There was a burly teenager in front of the door like a security guard. He was wearing a loose black tee shirt and dark wash jeans. He also had a farmers tan and you could easily tell he was physically fit. Racheal started to speak to him. She mentioned a code and a delivery for Jacob. I didn't know he was talking to me until Racheal put a hand on my head and said my name._

 _"_ _I'm sorry, what did you say?"_

 _"_ _What's your name little fella. I can't let anyone in this room without id."_

 _Racheal stepped in before I could respond._

 _"_ _Rick, he's eight," she said matter of factly. "You can't expect him to have an id."_

 _"_ _Then he can't go in."_

 _"_ _It's okay sissy, I'll wait right here." But it wasn't okay. I didn't want to be out here alone. Racheal and Rick started arguing so I just turned towards the door and waited. It didn't take long for someone to notice the argument and open the door. Jacob Taylor stood right in front of me. He looked down at me first then to Racheal and Rick, who had stopped arguing and started staring at Jacob. Jeez they practically worshiped him._

 _Nobody talked or dared to move, after a while I decided to step in. I tugged on the zipper of my sister's jacket. "Can we leave now?" I asked._

 _Jacob looked from me to my sister. "What the hell is this Racheal? Why would you bring your little brother to a place like this? What if he told your parents or someone what goes on here? I could get in serious trouble!" he was definitely angry, he walked up to Racheal, staring her deep in the eyes. Then as quick as a whip he lashed out on her and hit her right across her face so hard her head flew back. She staggered for a bit but regained her balance quickly showing know fear._

 _"_ _Don't bring your brother here again or he'll be next. But why not have a little fun now." With that he turned to me, I had my head ducked staring intently at the ground trying not to be noticed. He reached out with his long slim fingers and placed them under my chin, lifting my head in the process._

 _"_ _We wouldn't want to hurt a poor little kid," he said sneering in my face. "Would we?" he looked back to Racheal with a wicked grin on his face._

 _"_ _Leave him alone," she said with a deadly voice._

 _"_ _Alright sweetheart but that means you take the beating instead. I won't go easy because you're a girl," he added as an afterthought. He still had that wicked grin on his face knowing the answer. He was actually enjoying the pain that was being brought here. I wondered what type of psychopath actually enjoyed ruining lives, physically and mentally._

 _"_ _Fine. But he can't watch. It's too cruel of a punishment for him."_

 _"_ _Okay, so privacy it is. Watch what you wish for princess, nobody can stop me from doing anything once you're through that door," he said pointing at the door he'd come from._

 _She actually looked scared but all the same went through the door. As soon as it closed, I collapsed only to be caught by the big burly guy guarding the door. I was crying into his tee shirt as I heard my sister's screams and calls for help. I tried the door but it was locked. Rick was a lot nicer than he seemed. He told me it wasn't right to do what Jacob does but he couldn't go against him. That would be putting his life in danger, and apparently it wasn't worth it. Racheal was not screaming for him to stop and get off her. There were cracks and booms and all kinds of breaking noises._

 _Something stung me in the side of my neck and when I looked over my shoulder, Rick held a syringe._

 _"_ _Sorry little man," he said, sounding truly sorry._

 _Next thing I know I was being lifted and carried away, outside. A black SUV pulled around the corner just as I lost consciousness._

That night Racheal to a beating for me. Jacob drove us back to our house, dumping us in our yard, not really caring what would happen afterwards. I learned later on that I got drugged and tossed into the trunk of the black SUV. I was right, I lost consciousness shortly after being drugged. Racheal was tossed in beside me also unconscious. We weren't found until our parents got home and saw us laying in the yard. They took us straight to the ER. Racheal faced severe blood loss, whip marks on her back, a permanent scar of Jacob Taylors initials on her stomach that was carved in with a small dagger, rape, and a lot of physical therapy, diagnosed with PTSD, broken ribcage from being kicked around, bruised bones. All in all, it wasn't very good, and I felt extremely guilty for all of it. She never swam or wore tank tops or anything showing a lot of skin. I felt horrible every time I caught a glimpse of a scar. She was never the same until college, when she left Brooklyn.

Now I face the new, foreign, sister and the same old angry mother that favorite her daughter over son. To her, every mistake I make ruins her life more than mine. To her, I'm the least responsible in the house and can't keep clean. Racheal is he most perfect sibling in the world and never makes mistakes. Please not the sarcasm. It was too silent in the room and our matched stares were becoming unnerving.

"No need to stop your conversation. I'm just passing through."

"Simon, it wasn't as if we were talking about something you can't know," Racheal said.

"She immediately picked up my feeling about the situation. She was trying to be friendly. I wasn't in the mood for friendly. In her tone you could her the exasperation in her voice, she was tired.

"I'm sorry Racheal, I just think you're overreacting a tad too much."

"It's better to be overreacting than underreacting. It means we care, Simon," she retorted.

"Underreacting, eh. Is that even a thing?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Simon, this isn't a joke," she said, but smiled all the same. My mother continued to stare at me with the most loathing look I've ever seen. Which is a lot by the way.

"Okay, well, I'm gonna get a granola bar and hit the hay," I said trying to get Rach to crack another smile. It didn't work. Oh well, everyone has their off days. That or I'm just really unlucky. Both probably. I grabbed a g-bar and literally pounded up the stairs, trying to make as much noise as possible to annoy my mother. When I walked into my room I set the bar down on my desk and jumped on my bed. Not bothering to change clothes or get under the covers. I fell asleep just like that.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 .**

Disclaimer: I do not own the mortal instruments characters.

You will find your characters in the next chapters. Enjoy.

I felt horrible when I woke up, like I had been hit by a bus. It was a restless night for me. I dreamed of the news Jace told me and Clary's disappointed face. I did something wrong to them—them being Clary and my sister—but what? There was a knock on my door. I leaned over on my side and pretended to be asleep. If it was my mom, I knew she wouldn't bother with a second glance, but Racheal on the other hand, would stare at me until she was sure I was really asleep. The door opened and someone came in, shutting the door behind them. I hate when people come into my room when they don't ask or aren't welcomed, but to be fair I was supposed to be asleep. There were light footsteps coming over to the bed—Racheal.

"Simon, I know you're awake."

"No you don't," I replied, blowing my cover.

She started shaking my shoulder and trying to tickle me. I didn't work, it never worked on me. I got this from my dad, who left my family on the day I was born. My mom was devastated and I have a strange feeling, blamed me for it. God, I hate him.

"Sorry, Simon is not available at the moment. Leave a message after the beep…'beep'."

"Si, seriously. I want to talk to you about last night."

My phone chimed before I could say anything. Saved by the bell, I thought. Rach handed me my phone and I read Clary's name on my screen, and under that a simple, short message.

 _U, me, alec, izzy. Coffee shop. Café Grumpy. Meserole Ave. Now!_

That was all it said. If we were having a meeting then I'm definitely in for it now. I'll be pounded with so many questions.

"Sorry, Rach. Can't, got a coffee date." With that said I grabbed my coat and walked over to the window. I threw it open and pulled out the emergency latter under the window, attached to the wall. It was an old rickety thing, made of wood blocks and rope that was frayed. I wasn't sure it would hold my weight but there was only one way to know. Racheal just watched me, she didn't speak till I was on the window sill.

"You know we have a front door, right?" she asked.

"Yeah but there's also a sleeping bear down there guarding it," I retorted. "Will you pull the latter up after I'm done? Oh and also tell mom when she finds out I'm gone, where I'm at," I added as an afterthought.

"Sure," she said while walking over to my desk, grabbing my wallet. She turned and tossed it to me. "You'll need this I think. Make sure you keep you keep your phone turned on this time."

"Yeah, yeah. Stop being a mom. I can handle myself," I said, getting irritated. I started climbing down the latter as quickly as I could go, not wanting to hear her reply. I knew I had hurt her feelings, she had always been more of a mom that sister to me. She filled in for my real mom. It had been a rough night for both of and that's what caused the bickering and rude behavior from me, usually we never argue. I know that it's strange for siblings to not argue, but arguing just doesn't happen usually. I'll apologize to her when I get back, I always will apologize to her. I wasn't ready to go back to normal in my life. Maybe Jace was right, I wasn't fit out for a normal life. I'm not saying I want a completely new life, but maybe a good change wouldn't hurt. I could lead a double- life.

After I was off the latter a ducked and sprinted onto the sidewalk and headed down the road. I didn't slow down until I could no longer hear the latter clanging against the siding of the house and I was at the intersection. I planned on walking not wanting to waste my money on a tax, but someone was waiting for me. It was a familiar sight, but it probably meant bad news.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 .**

Disclaimer: I do not own the mortal instruments characters.

What was he doing here? I walked the rest of the way to him.

"Hey, so look, I heard about your little coffee meeting today. Don't tell them. No matter how hard they pressure and question you, don't tell them," Jace said as a way of greeting.

"Well, wasn't that just the nicest greeting for someone at 11 am," I retorted. I wasn't worried that I'd let the shadowhunter secret slip out since I've never let one before. "Come on man, I won't tell. I've never told a secret before. Why start now?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because they're your friends," he said, I hinted sarcasm. "Friends, I heard, tell each other everything from the hottest finger nail polish," he said wiggling his fingers in my face. "To the latest gossip about a murder victim." He had a serious look on his face that told me he probably meant the murder victim being us and the murderer being a monster. I thought about that for a moment before answering.

"Well if I feel the need to express my feeling and the secret to someone, I'll go down to the zoo and talk to the ferrets about it," my voice was dripping sarcasm.

"Good, if they listen maybe they'll take the monster matter in their own hands and take care of them for us. Like a little shadowhunting ferret species. Brilliant!"

He actually sounded happy about that. How can someone like him actually believe ferrets can kill monsters? All of a sudden his happy look turned to an unbelievably irritated.

"What?" I asked, not understanding why his expression changed.

"You don't seriously think I believe in shadowhunting ferrets, do you?"

"Alright, I get it. Don't tell them the secret. I won't. Now, may I continue my journey to the café? Have business to attend to and if I'm lucky, Clary will decide not to kill me."

I didn't wait to hear an answer. The timer was counting down from 20 for me to walk across and I took my chances at 12 hoping to loose Jace between the traffic. It was inching towards afternoon and cars were starting to pull out of buildings in search of lunch. I didn't have long until Brooklyn became too congested with traffic that I couldn't walk and make it to the café on time. Once I made it across the street I turned back to see if Jace was still standing at the corner only to find him closely trailing me. Why is he following me? I wasn't as if I didn't see him. I slowed my pace so that he easily caught up to me. I stopped and turned to him.

"May I ask why you're following me?"

"Sure. Please do."

I let out a heavy sigh for effects. "Why are you following me?"

He grinned. "Easy," he said as if it should make sense already. "I'm making sure you keep your word and-," he said it dramatically. "To watch for monsters that could also be following you."

I raised my eyebrows skeptically. "That's what you do, hunt monsters?"

"Yes, initially, that's what we do," he said, clearly getting bored of the conversation.

"So am I the one attracting the monsters or would it be the shadowhunter following me?" I asked, still not really caring about the answer. I was walking again before he could respond. He must have decided that it wasn't really worth the hassle to hang in the back and be sneaky so he walked beside me. We were mostly silent, creating small talk between crossing the street and waiting to cross the street. I checked the time, 11:30. I spent half an hour being distracted by Jace and the traffic. I knew Clary would be mad if I was too late. I decided I'd text her.

On the way. Around the corner.

I didn't put my phone away until it said 'sent'. Jace was leaning over my shoulder as I read her reply.

We ordered coffee. Already got yours. Hurry.

I didn't say anything to Jace until I felt his hot breath on the back of my neck trying to read. I turned to his, shaking him off my shoulder.

"Do you mind? Seriously, I won't tell her. Jeez, you could use some breath mints by the way."

"I have to make sure. I won't take chances," he said a little too fiercely.

I ignored his tone and turned back to texting Clary. I tried to walk at the same time but shortly gave up the idea as soon as I hit a streetlamp. I heard snickers behind me and turned to see Jace grinning at me like I was a science project he couldn't figure out what went wrong. I gave him a face and flashed a finger, he just snickered more. I walked again and this time I decided against the idea of multitasking. I figured out that when I wasn't doing two things at once the first thing always gets done a little quicker than before. Without texting Clary or talking to Jace, I made it to the Café at 11:42. Great timing I thought. Eight minutes quicker than I had planned. I looked around me for Jace but I didn't see him. He had disappeared into the shadows, but something gave me the feeling that he was closer than I thought he was. I knew, somehow, that he would hear every word of my conversation like he had said. He would be listening.

I walked up to the door and pulled the handles, they were shaped out of metal to look like coffee mugs and the mug handle was the door handle. Creative. Little bells greeted me when the door opened and the smell of ground coffee beans filled my nose. There were pastries lining the walls and under the counter. The girl at the register welcomed me and asked what I would like. She was cute, I had to admit. He had short blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wore a black fitted polo shirt and the customary apron with the café's name on it, black jeans and white converse shoes. No make-up. She had storm green eyes and perfect cheekbones, with an angular face. My kind of girl. I told her I was here with someone and they had already gotten my coffee. Before I walked off I told her thank you and mentioned that she looked good in black, it makes you notice her eyes. At that's he just giggled and turned to help the next customer. I wandered around the café until I found my friends sitting in a corner booth.

As I walked up to them they each had a distinct expression on their faces. Clary looking guilty. Isabelle looking infuriated. Alec looking tired and nonchalant. I wondered how Isabelle and Alec could get along so well yet be so different.

"Hey," I said as I slid into the booth beside Clary.

"Well, look at the liar that finally showed up," Isabelle said, sounding very angry. I whispered in Clary's ear to pass me my coffee. She did and looked up at me with pleading green eyes. I smiled and nodded at her. She understood that I wasn't mad at her for telling them and relaxed a bit.

"I'm sorry, Simon," she said. It was barely a whisper. "It was your place to tell them and I interfered. Again, I'm sorry." She sounded really guilty about it. It hurt to see her guilty, with her big green eyes staring in yours, with a sad, tried face.

I tipped her face up to mine and whispered back to her. "I'm not mad," I said smiling down at her. He laughed and returned a grateful smile. Beside us Isabelle cleared her throat catching our attention.

"Sorry to ruin your moment," Isabelle interjected. "But I would like to hear this secret you're keeping from us."

"Can't say," I responded short and quick.

"And why is that? You made a promise to a killer to not tell us something that I have a feeling is very important."

I sipped on my coffee trying to buy me some time. I didn't last long. Isabelle reached across the table and took my coffee out of my hand. "Hey! I was trying to drink that!" I was shouting and didn't notice until people turn our way.

Isabelle yelled at the people looking. "Go back to doing what you boring people do!"

"Be, nice Izzy. They're innocent," Alec spoke up.

"He's not," she retorted fiercely, pointing an angry finger at me. "He knows something huge. That affects all of our lives, and he's keeping to himself. He's being a selfish brat and I refuge to play it off cool, like I don't know he has a secret."

I didn't know how to answer. Isabelle was practically shouting at Alec, which wasn't normal. I pulled out my phone and texted Clary.

I'm going to leave. I've never seen them fight. I can't take it. Sorry talk to you later.

Her phone chimed and she saw it was me. At first she looked confused but once she read it she must've understood because she typed back quick.

Okay. Meet me around the back of the building in 5.

I didn't argue with her. I nodded to her and walked towards the door. The blond girl stared at me as I walked up to her.

"Did they pay yet?" I asked pointing to my friends. Alec and Isabelle were still arguing and Clary was trying to calm them down.

"Um, no," she said. "Not yet."

"Well let me take care of it," I laid a twenty on the counter and took the receipt of the printer for her, signing it on the bottom and writing down my number on the back. I ripped the top of and dropped it in the trash can on the way. I turned while opening the door and winked at her. She giggled.


	10. Chapter 10

Once I was outside I took my time walking around the building, I had five minutes and I didn't want to stand there the whole time. I was wondering what she wanted to talk about, I wasn't sure but I could tell she was uneasy about the whole argument situation. From the shadows in the back corner, emerged Jace.

"I thought you said they didn't argue. That looked like an argument to me," he said, smiling.

"Yeah, go back into hiding. Clary should be back here any moment."

"Oh, I know that already. I read the text message through the wall. I saw everything really."

"How can you read through the wall? That just doesn't make sense."

"I'll tell you all in good time, but for now, I can't say at the moment," he pulled out a small stone-like wand and started drawing on the wall. "Real smooth by the way. You know, with the blond girl."

"Thanks, but you know that isn't really in my expertise. What are you drawing for? Clary will be here any second." I never heard the answer because I got distracted when a part of the wall became invisible. I could hear and see everything on the inside but they didn't seem to notice me. "Why don't they notice the whole in the wall?" I asked Jace. He snickered but I now understood how he could see everything. The blond girl at the register had out a cell phone and was looking down at my scrawled phone number. She looked around as if the answer to her question would poop out of nowhere. Clary was walking through the coffee shop and trying to get out the door but there were people blocking her way and buying us some time. Alec had already left the café and only Izzy stayed sitting in the booth. She looked aggravated and angry. I almost felt ad for her but immediately remembered how she stole my coffee. I was a passive aggressive kind of guy so I wasn't gonna hold it against her, however I do like my coffee. I looked over at Jace with an incredulous look.

"This is amazing!"

"Yeah but watch out here comes your friend. See yah," that being said he took the wand away from the wall and slipped into the shadows becoming just as invisible as before. How did that even happen I wondered? Clary walked around the side of the building. She was wearing a graphic tee with a red and black flannel button-up over top with skinny jeans and black converse shoes. She had a small frame, all skin and bones with sharp features. She had natural fire orange hair that went just down past her shoulders and curled at the tips. This was the girl I loved, the one I wanted.

She walked up to me. "I have no idea what happened in there, for sibling who get along so well. Oh and I can't believe Alec kept calm the whole time!"

"Yeah, I think it's a little strange. I hope they sort it out though. Izzy looked really guilty about it after everyone left."

Mentally I could see Jace behind me with his head in his hands. Wondering how stupid I could get. I remembered I wasn't in the coffee shop after everyone left, I was looking through an invisible circle. I turned to look at where Jace had carved the lines in the wall only to see it fade to a ghastly white. Clary must have seen me distracted because she turned and looked at the wall too.

"That's cool,' she said. "A little small for graffiti, but definitely cool. And familiar. I think I've seen these before, they seem to have meanings."

I have no idea what she meant. Why would she feel emotion from simple lines? Maybe it's an artist thing.

"Okay then, what do you feel?" I asked.

She looked at the sign for a while before she spoke, pondering the answer. "I'm not sure, it's like an invisible feeling. Like it's trying to show something. I don't know, never mind," she said as an afterthought. God this conversation was turning weird. She turned back to look at me and I almost smiled at her face. Pure concentration and confusion mixed in one. I still thought she looked beautiful. Jace came from the shadows again and gave Clary a cautious look. Her eyes widened at the sight of him and I forgot that she didn't know.

"Clary. Clary, calm down. Don't attract attention," I said to her. Jace was standing beside me and we were both watching Clary as she paced up and down the alley muttering things to herself. Every now and then she would look up at us and give me a look of pure disappointment and sometimes sadness, but now it was just mostly anger. She was practically shooting daggers at both of us. Jace smiled the whole time as if he found this humoring. What could possibly be funny about this moment?

Finally she got herself together and walked up to me and Jace, still sending looks of daggers, but she wasn't terrified like the last time she saw Jace, just angry. She went to Jace first, pointing an angry finger in his face.

"You're the reason my friends can't seem to keep their shit together. You're doing this to my life. My parents were enough, but now them. You got to be out of your mind," she said and turning to me. "You," she said to me. "You have got to tell me this secret if you plan on any of us actually trusting you again." I turned and looked at Jace, he looked back to me, still smiling. I needed to tell her and it was all the better when Jace was here, maybe he could help elaborate.

"Okay, I'll tell you." She looked at me incredulous, I could tell she didn't think I'd give in. Her shoulder relaxed and she grabbed my wrist. Pulling me towards the coffee shop door. When we turned and saw Jace not following she let go of my wrist and walked back down towards Jace. He was trying to draw on the wall again but never got to finish because Clary grabbed his wrist too and started pulling him towards me. As she walked by she took my wrist again. We were walking behind her now, both of our wrist trapped in her hands. Jace looked over at me with an annoyed look, I smiled and shrugged, showing my defeat. When clary opened the shop door we both walked in behind her. I glanced over at the blond girl who was still looking down at my receipt, beside me Jace snickered and I couldn't help but to let out a laugh. She looked up at us when we made our way over to our table and immediately turned red. I laughed again and so did Jace. Clary turned to us as we approached to table.

"What is so funny?" she asked with an icy tone. Jace just laughed and the smile was wiped off my face. I quickly apologized to Clary and Jace stopped short of laughing, acknowledging that the moment was over. Clary finally let go of our wrist and I slid into the booth opposite of her, Jace sat beside me. "Tell me everything," was all she said. I looked to Jace for permission but he was busy rubbing his fingers over the red ring around his wrist where clary dragged him along. I looked over to her and started explaining. I told her how there was a different world within ours and that Jace was a shadowhunter, he protected the stubborn New York citizens from monsters. And that we have the Sight, meaning that we can see the shadowworld. She took in every piece of information and at some points nodded that she understood. Jace interjected a few times to correct my mistakes, since I didn't know much, he filled in a lot. It was lunch by the time we were finished and I had to get to Eric's by 1, it was around 12 now so I asked Clary if she just wanted to eat lunch here before we head to Eric's. Jace didn't stay though, he said he had very important business to attend to. But before he left he also told Clary that this stays a secret. Once Jace left we ordered lunch and sat there talking. She took the news better than I thought she would.


End file.
